The heavens declare the glory of God,

       and the skies announce what his hands have made. 

Day after day they tell the story;

       night after night they tell it again.

Psalm 19:1-2

 

 

lifevest = don't love it

Inspired by my (P)photographer friend Katie, I entered this picture of Everett in Paper Mama photo contest. This week the contest is "whatever" ... I think Everett nailed it. Either way- it was fun to mess around on picnik and look at the different photo editing options. I still use the free version, but the $24 premium package is looking mighty tempting!

My out of office message

Aylen Lake, Ontario, Canada

Plans include eating, reading, boating, hiking, husband, son, repeat. See you in a week!

A + K

It's been 5 years since I made the BEST earthly decision of my life thus far. I mean that. I couldn't have picked a better man to spend my life with. It has never been a roller coaster, but instead, constant and steady. I don't think at the young age of 23 I realized how important that decision would be, but I'm thankful that the Lord did and that he gave me Aaron.  He is my sounding board, my helper, my talk-some-sense-into-me kind of husband. The husband who does the dishes and laundry, paint and repaints again, and works incredibly hard to provide for us. The kind of man who serves others joyfully, delights in his son, and loves those around him. A husband who makes life fun and makes me laugh daily, all the while still able to have a real and deep conversation about God, our future and life.

Five years later, I am so much more in love with him than the day that we were married. I'm in love with this handsome man who lives this life with me. The man who walks beside me daily, encouraging, loving, and always laughing with me. Thank you Lord for giving me such an incredible man.

I love you Aaron!

Adoption

I feel like I have been surrounded by it. Seeing the way that God's people are living out the gospel and caring for the widows and orphans. It's such a beautiful picture. Amazing to see the way the Lord touches peoples hearts to love children that were unloved. There have been a number of friends at our church who have adopted or are in the process. A few weeks ago, I asked you to participate in the giveaway for our friends Ryan and Katie who are adopting from the Congo. Right now, other friends of ours are in China with their little girl Emery Lin. Angie and Clint have been praying for their little girl and waiting and hoping and praying some more for the last 3 years. As of Monday, their prayers have been answered. If you want to read more you can click here or look for "the weldons" under our friends tab.

I also follow a blog called the lettered cottage. It's a design blog, but they are also in the process of adopting. Today they had a guest post from a family who adopted two of the sweetest little kids from Africa. I watched their coming home video and cried. What a beautiful amazing homecoming!



Home At Last from dan owens on Vimeo.


Adoption is such an amazing wonderful life changing thing. I'm thankful to be able to see so many children welcomed into loving families. It's a great Thursday.

sidewalk chalk

Best $1.29 I ever spent. Okay, maybe not, but it was still fun. I randomly saw it at Riteaid and figured, why not? We tried it out today and I only had to fish 2 pieces out of Everett's mouth. I call that success. He drew some, but didn't really seem to understand what he was supposed to do with the chalk. He was more interested in taking the pieces in and out of the box. I'm fine with that. Not to self- next time buy the thick stuff. The skinny chalk was too thin for his chubby little fingers.

one man's trash really is another man's treasure

Craigslist. I love it- you know this. Recently, I've been enjoying the other side of craigslist- selling! Since we got our new living room furniture, I've got end/side tables, chandelier, area rugs, a few shelves, and some other random odds and ends that I am not using anymore. I listed everything 2 weeks ago. Nothing. I only had one inquiry. So, I re-listed everything this week. Bingo. When it comes to craigslist, it's all about timing. So, within the last 3 days, I've sold our old chandelier, coffee and end tables, a frame, and a corner shelf. Sweet right?

Mollie bought our chandelier. She had her washer pipe burst (on the third floor of her townhouse- boo) and needed to replace her dining room chandelier. She got a new light and so did I. I even made 25 bucks on the deal because I found that good deal at homedepot. I call that a win-win.

Mary Ann was looking for new coffee/side tables. Her kids are in their teens and she wanted something nicer. I was looking to get rid of my nice but sharp cornered end tables, and Everett was hoping for a table that he wouldn't hurt himself on. Mary Ann was excited, I was excited. She even dragged her son along to help load and he was happy because he got a trip to Sonic out of it. Again, win-win.

In the end, I'm financing my entire living room/first floor update simply by selling and re-purposing the stuff we've got. I'm even making some money! It's a pretty cool deal. If you haven't tried craigslist, you should.

Buy something, sell something. And while you're at it here's a few tips:

1- Be specific. In your searching, use the search engine and look for exactly what you want. Use key words to help narrow the number of things that you will look at.
2- Be persistent. If you read my stalking craigslist post, then you know what I'm saying. Check craigslist multiple times a day for the things that you want. It's all about timing on the website. If you're buying, check the website a lot. If you're selling, repost your items every few weeks and make sure you have nice clear pictures for buyers to look at.
3- Be safe. I only meet people when Aaron is home and only give out my address if they have already verbally said they want to buy the item. My address is usually the very last thing that I give people. It's only after we've had a number of emails back and forth and I know that they're serious about purchasing the items that I give them our address. If you're wary of this, meet at a public place.
4- Be smart. There are scammers on craigslist. Often when you post something you may get one or two of these people. They will tell you that they're interested in your item. Their second email to you will say something about a money order, moving out of the country, etc. Don't do business with these people. Use common sense. Also, I only accept cash. It just makes sense.

So there you go. Questions, ask. I know my way around craigslist ;)


Happy Craigslisting!

Everett randoms

---Everett is really into using utensils. So much so, he will not eat a banana without a fork. Seriously. I have to slice up the banana so he can stab at it with his little fork. For a while, he was doing the same with blueberries... glad he kicked that habit. Breakfast was taking foreeeeever.

---Everett has started to recognize the packaging/containers with his favorite foods. When I pull something out that he likes he gleefully yells  "OOOOOO!"

---Everett loves the water. We were boating at a local lake on Sunday that had a beach. Everett (with water wings on) would yell GO! and throw himself into the water... face and all. I'm not exactly sure how he figured it out, but he is holding his breath? Aaron claims he'll be "swimming" by the end of the summer.

---Everett has started kissing to get his way. No lie. When I give him something and ask him to say thank you, he tries to kiss me instead. He sometimes does the same with please. I'm all about those sweet little kisses, but then I make him say please or thank you too. Kids need manners, right?!

---Everett has started paying more and more attention to what the dogs bark at. They bark furiously and run to the door when Aaron gets home. Everett now equates that with Aaron getting home from work and yells "Daddy!" multiple times a day thinking that the barking dogs are alerting him to Aaron's arrival.

---Not that I'm an advocate for toddler tv watching, but it'd be nice if Everett watched more than 3 minutes of a show so that I could get stuff done! The closest we've gotten is "The Backyardigans" and he will only watch during the opening credits because it's a song. He shoulder shakes and dances around and then as soon as the music stops, he's off to do something else. 

---Everett has started to climb onto everything. Last night, Aaron said he ran in the other room and within minutes was on a dining room chair playing with my half drank mug of then cold coffee.  This morning I look over and he climbed on my kitchen step stool, onto a cooler, and was playing with my kitchen utensils. Eek-I can't take my eyes off this kid!

---Everett has this crazy, hard throw. I try to warn people when the want to play catch with him that he throws really hard. I don't think they believe me until he's thrown a ball at their chest or face. Aaron is banking on this being his way into professional sports... I guess he can dream.

So there you have it, all of the random stuff Everett is up to at 16 months old. He's definitely all boy and a wild and adventurous one at that!

new sign via picnik

 

So, I've been redecorating. You know this. I have also been soaking in tons of inspiration via pinterest. I found a quote on there that I love and wanted to find somewhere and somehow to display it. I also stumbled onto a fantastic blog and found an AMAZING tutorial on how to create free printables on picnik.com (it's a photo editing website that's FREE! I love and adore it and use it all the time). So, this morning over coffee, I came up with a sign for my kitchen. All I have to do is head over to a staples somewhere and print it out! I haven't decided yet if I'm going to frame and hang it or slap on some modge podge and add it to a canvas. Either way, I'm pretty excited about it!  What do you think?

eternity moments

A few months ago when we were out visiting my parents, my dad told me he had an "eternity moment" with Everett. I wasn't exactly sure what he meant until he explained it. He said when he went in and picked Everett up from his crib, Everett wrapped his arms around my dad and just hugged him for a few minutes. Dad said it was one of those moments that he could live in for an eternity, that he could stay in forever. I loved it and his description, and that he loves my son so much.

Today I found myself having my very own eternity moment. It was a perfect day full of fun moments and crazy water adventures with Everett. Toward the end of the day, we headed out for a ride around the lake. I was riding in the front of the boat with Everett. The wind in our faces, sun shining, and Everett leaning into me hugging me with his sweet little hands. He held my hand and lay back on my chest and it just hit me- I could do this forever. Just simply live in this moment on repeat. I am so thankful for that moment today, thankful for my little boy, and so very thankful for those eternity moments.